Periodic Trends

Definition

Periodic trends are specific patterns that are present in the periodic table that illustrate different aspects of a certain element, including its size and how it bonds with other elements.

Related terms

Atomic Radius:

This is half the distance between two nuclei of two identical atoms bonded together. It's like measuring the width of a building to understand its size.

Ionization Energy:

This is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom or ion. Imagine if each floor of a building represented an electron - ionization energy would be like the effort needed to remove one floor from our building.

Electronegativity:

This is a measure of how strongly atoms attract bonding electrons to themselves. In our city analogy, this could be compared to how attractive or popular certain neighborhoods are - some areas (atoms) draw more people (electrons) than others!